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Nature's Incursion

We hear a lot about how man is invading nature's habitat, but this morning, nature is returning the experience.

I was busy typing on my trusty 'puter, listening to Music from the Hearts of Space, lovely, ethereal music I love to write to, when I became aware of a strange repeated sound, a yip/yowl that grew/faded into a stronger, more hackles-raising sound.

At first, I thought one of the kittens in the utility room must be in distress.

As I walked toward the door, I decided it was coming from outside instead. "Maybe one of the cats living under the house..." but as I moved around, I decided not on that idea, too.

Finally I settled on the idea that it was in the pasture behind the house... (The fence is 10' from the back of the house, as I didn't want a lawn to mow.)

Since I was in a section without windows out to the back, I walked into the master bedroom's bathroom, which has a tiny window facing the approximate area I wanted to examine.

Then, I was spellbound. I watched the coyote, standing slightly uphill from my lp tank, face southwest and utter his weird bark-yip-yowl combo. He repeated it identically. I start thinking about an unshot photo challenge, "view out a window" and thought I ought to go for the camera, but that meant leaving, and I couldn't take my eyes off the coyote. He stood in relief against the snowy hillside, not quite lit by the coming light of the dawn. His side was to me, so I had a perfect view of the entire animal.

I thought, "Go get the video camera! Even though it is too cold to risk it outside, shooting through the window won't hurt it, and will catch that unique yip-bark-yowl you're hearing."

But then I talked myself out of it. Not only didn't I move, but I was disgusted at the fly specks on the window which would not look pretty in the shot. Although three of the four panes had been washed and were clean, it would make no difference in the overall effect. ARGH!

The coyote made his strange sound for over 15 minutes, facing steadily southwest the entire time. I couldn't see anything behind the six board fence for it to be barking at, either in warning or exhortation.

Anyone speak COYOTE? What does that cry mean?

When the first rays of sunlight hit the top board of the fence about 50 feet behind the coyote, it turned and fled off over the hill into the oak grove, down toward the mare's pasture. Neither stallion in the area it was in came up to investigate at all... their heads stayed firmly in their big bales of hay...